WINES2WHALES: DOMINANT BEERS, MILLER SECURE OVERALL VICTORY

Sunday, 10 November, brought the 2024 FNB Wines2Whales race week to its conclusion as the Shiraz finished at Benguela Cove. Toyota Specialized’s Matt Beers and Alex Miller joined Candice Lill and Tyler Jacobs as the fourteenth elite champions, a week after the SeattleCoffeeCo eFORT ALMAR pair wrapped up their title. The dominant victors were joined on the final overall podium by Marco Joubert and Wessel Botha, as well as by Marc Pritzen and Tristen Nortje.

Leaving Oak Valley, the last day was largely downhill but into a headwind. The 64 kilometre route included just 950 metres of climbing as it traversed the Elgin plateau in an easterly direction, before descending into the Overberg via Katpas. Singletracks in Wildekrans and Genevieve MCC were followed by a crossing of the Bot River, on a century old steel bridge, ahead of the day’s most significant climb, which provided the launch pad for the stage winning move.

“We didn’t need to win, but we’re racers and we’re out here to race, so we are always going to go as hard as we can,” Beers reflected after winning the stage. “We were more patient today, but we had identified the wheat field as the place to attack before the stage. By the time we got there it was already starting to break up a bit, so we stuck to our plan and pushed on.”

This move allowed Beers and Miller to climb to a stage winning advantage over the next 10 kilometres. By the time they turned and started the 13 kilometre descent, along the Church and Escape Raz singletracks, their advantage was 1 minute and 40 seconds. Imbuko and Honeycomb Pro Cycling both had reason to try to go with the men in yellow, but neither could. Once the gap was established, they watched each other closely. Only 18 seconds had separated the men in second from their rivals in third, at the start of the stage.

“We had our bad luck on Stage 1, but that’s racing,” Pritzen mused. “Marco [Joubert] and Wessel [Botha] rode really well. We gave it our best shot over these last two days, but at the end of the day, the best team won and the next best came second.”

With Stage 1’s 16 second gap being the biggest, between Honeycomb Pro Cycling and the men who beat them into third over the three days, the battle between Joubert and Botha against Pritzen and Nortje was the most captivating of the race. When the dust settled, just 25 seconds separated them.

Behind the podium places, Computer Mania endured a stressful final stage. Daniel van der Walt fell off the group just before the Houw Hoek Hotel Water Point, 18 kilometres into the day. With BUFF MEGAMO in the lead group, the young racers had a frantic day-long chase. Their overnight advantage, on the team in fifth, had been 4 minutes and 12 seconds going into the stage. At one point Hans Becking and Wout Alleman had halved that on the trails, but Van der Walt and Ursin Spescha finished strong to hang on to fourth.

In the Exxaro Jersey race, one of the defending champions, Damon Terblanche retained his title alongside new teammate Ziandro Jordaan. Both Fairtree DP World Cannondale 1 men hail from Knysna and their victory had Terblanche emotional on the finish line: “To win with your best friend is amazing. We had a dream three years ago to win the Exxaro Jersey together and it just came true. Thank you to our coach and to the people back home for believing in us; and to Fairtree, DP World and Cannondale for giving us the opportunity to fulfil our dreams.”

Beers and Miller were equally gracious. “It’s been a long season overseas, learning a lot of things,” Beers said. “It’s nice to come home and end the season with a win, especially alongside Alex. He’s a super talent! To me racing is just fun and winning is a bonus. It’s important for the sponsors and everyone who supports us all year, though, so this is for them.”

“It’s great to finish the season off with a win,” Miller smiled. “We started with a win and finished with a win. It’s thanks to Toyota and all the other big partners at events like this that the sport keeps going and growing. So, a big thank you to our sponsors – Toyota, Specialized, and all the rest – and to the FNB Wines2Whales sponsors!”

Miller’s words of thanks brought the 2024 FNB Wines2Whales to a close. Mountain biking fans can reflect on the 9 days of racing and riding on the event’s social media handles @wines_2_whales on Instagram and Wines2Whales on Facebook, or on the Epic Series YouTube channel. Further information can be found at www.epic-series.com/wines2whales and all the stories from the Chardonnay, Pinotage and Shiraz events can be read here.

2024 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz Results:

Elite Men’s Stage 3:

1. Toyota Specialized: Matthew Beers & Alexander Miller (2:15:50)
2. Team Imbuko: Marco Joubert & Wessel Botha (2:17:15 | +1:25)
3. Team Honeycomb Pro Cycling: Marc Pritzen & Tristan Nortje (2:17:22 | +1:32)
4. BUFF MEGAMO: Wout Alleman & Hans Becking (2:18:42 | +2:51)
5. Insect Science Cycling: Keagan Bontekoning & Ernie Roets (2:18:49 | +2:58)

Exxaro Men’s Stage 3:

1. Fairtree DP World Cannondale 1 : Ziandro Jordaan & Damon Terblanche (2:33:18)
2. Citi Change a Life #2: Siphesihle Ngcobo & Sihle Mlungu (2:37:55 | +4:37)
3. EXXARO/TAMELA 1: Molokela Modiba & Kwazikwenkosi Mbhamali (2:38:09 | +4:51)

Elite Men’s General Classification after Stage 3:

1. Toyota Specialized: Matthew Beers & Alexander Miller (7:14:22)
2. Team Imbuko: Marco Joubert & Wessel Botha (7:22:05 | +7:42)
3. Team Honeycomb Pro Cycling: Marc Pritzen & Tristan Nortje (7:22:30 | +8:07)
4. Computer Mania Pro MTB: Daniel van der Walt & Ursin Spescha (7:26:41 | +12:18)
5. BUFF MEGAMO: Wout Alleman & Hans Becking (7:29:39| +15:16)

Exxaro Men’s General Classification after Stage 3:

1. Fairtree DP World Cannondale 1: Ziandro Jordaan & Damon Terblanche (8:21:16)
2. Citi Change a Life #2: Siphesihle Ngcobo & Sihle Mlungu (8:33:18 | +12:02)
3. EXXARO/TAMELA 1: Molokela Modiba & Kwazikwenkosi Mbhamali (8:47:52 | +35:36)

For the full results from the 2024 FNB Wines2Whales Shiraz click here.